Lifestyle

Instagram Hotel Features Selfies and Digital Murals

If you live and breathe Instagram, you have to check out the month-old 1888 Hotel in Sydney, Australia. The name is an homage to 1888, the year Kodak launched the first box and roll camera — but it's anything but retro.

When you walk into the boutique hotel, you're greeted by a revolving digital mural of Instagram images, and a selfie space to snap a photo of yourself as you check in. More than 100 guest-shot Instagram photos adorn the five-story space's 90 rooms. Check out the hotel on Instagram under the #1888Hotel hashtag to see what we're talking about.

Those who exceed 10,000 followers get a free night's stay. If you don't fall into that category, there's another chance to win some freebies. Once a month, the hotel hosts a friendly competition in which the guests who snap the best photo of the establishment get an additional night's stay on the house (winners are picked based on engagement and composition). If you aren't fortunate enough to win, rooms start around $140.

The management company 8Hotels spent two years and $30 million to develop the space. 8Hotels' chief executive officer Paul Fischman told Mashable that the design caters to today's modern traveler.

"There has always been a strong, intrinsic link between travel and photography, but the advent of social media and Instagram has made photo-sharing an even bigger part of the traveler's experience," he said. "People not only want to visit and stay in beautiful places, they also want to capture and share it with their friends and networks as it happens."

Fischman added that hoteliers know guests can be obsessive about posting and documenting their stays. That's why 8Hotels built in such heavy social-media integration.

It's brand new, but YouTube star Toby Turner, who has about 6.5 million subscribers on YouTube, has already hung out there, and hit up the selfie space. Here he is mugging, below.

Spain was the first country to create aTwitter-themed hotel, and now Australia seems to be the first in the Instagram department.

Would you stay here? Is this too little, too much or just the right amount of social engagement? Let us know in the comments.

Mashable
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